I've just watched the RTÉ programme on 2 nursing homes and I'm disgusted. Some of the handling practices allowed are disgusting, not to mention running out of continence care?! That's disgusting!

But it isn't new.

Whilst still working, I'd seen panorama documentaries on care homes in England and the treatment of residents, and discussed these with colleagues. We were all appalled at what we saw. But the truth is, that happened around us.

In the UK, our regulators are the CQC - Care Quality Commission. I reported the manager of the second home I worked at for poor moving and handling after he dragged a resident - known to have challenging behaviour due to mental health issues and to have poor mobility due to MS - by her ankles to move her out of the way of where she'd lowered herself to the floor. I'd left to get a hoist, sling and slide sheet (the sheet would have allowed us to move her from where she was to then safely hoist her). When I got back, it was to him just finishing up dragging her and setting down her feet. 3 other staff members were standing around and laughing. Myself and another staff member hoisted the lady into a wheelchair and provided her with the care she required. The following day, I reported the manager. Two weeks later, when the reporting had trickled down to him, he called me into his office and sacked me on the spot for "poor moving and handling" wherein I had apparently hoisted someone without a second pair of hands available. This was bullshit and clearly because I'd been a whistleblower.

I worked in a few homes following this, including one where I was the Supervisor - our version of deputy manager.

I tried my hardest to overhaul wherever I worked. Bettering care plans, changing routines, insisting on not watching the clock and instead leading off what the people we cared for wanted and needed. The higher ups always hated me, but the staff I worked with absolutely loved me so I think that shows that I was doing a good job for the staff and residents, but not making enough money or time management for those watching the bank balance and time sheets! I went to coroners court at 7 months pregnant to defend one home, and then was given a parting of ways settlement whilst on maternity leave because I had contacted CQC and Unison about treatment of me and residents.

- pokémon ref:

- caramelldansen ref during credits:

On Friday Ireland held elections for the Dáil Éireann (or Dáil for short) – the lower and principal chamber of the country's parliament. The result was that the two mainstream parties which lead the current coalition actually improved their standings slightly. With vote counting completed late Monday, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are now just 2 seats short of a majority of the recently enlarged 174 member Dáil. They will be soliciting support among the 16 independents or negotiate an agreement with one of the smaller parties; Labour (the most likely partner) with 11 seats would provide them with a stable majority consisting of 97 seats.

All over the western world, incumbent governments have been given a kicking over the cost of living crisis. But in the Irish election, where the counting of results concluded yesterday, it’s a very different story. Not long ago, Sinn Féin appeared on course to win the popular vote and become the leading party in a new coalition, but its support fell away badly earlier this year. Instead, Ireland’s traditionally dominant parties of the centre-right, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, appear to have it sown up again.

The Guardian's Dublin correspondent Lisa O’Carroll spoke with political science Prof. Gail McElroy on why the leftist-nationalist Sinn Féin fell in support.

Migration is a really difficult issue for them. Sinn Féin are unusual in that they are a leftwing nationalist party. Typically, nationalist parties tend to be on the right and nativist … happy to redistribute money but only to people of a given nationality. Sinn Féin, on the other hand, have quite a socialist economic agenda, which is at odds with that. Lisa said: “They tried to reset their migration policy in July by saying that asylum seekers should be housed in wealthier areas that have more resources available. But it was too late. Many inner-city communities say that Sinn Féin has abandoned them, and when that becomes established as a view it is hard to change.”

So Ireland's main populist party was hurt by the softer line it took on migration. Parties in Western democracies who don't understand the public demand for a slowdown in migration are going to suffer – and it doesn't matter what their party ideology may be.

Here's a graphic from Ireland's public broadcaster RTÉ which shows the composition of the just elected Dáil.